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Much of Jerry Stackhouse’s pandemic so far has been spent on the future. He’s staying busy by watching teenagers play basketball on tape, scouting possible recruits for the 2021 and 2022 classes.

To anyone who might wonder, Stackhouse is still here for this.

All of it. The teaching. Especially the teaching.

But also the recruiting, the rebuilding, the still-formidable challenge of returning Vanderbilt basketball to prominence, coaching at a college where the athletics department is no longer headed by Malcolm Turner, the man responsible for bringing him to Nashville last year to take on all of the above.

And yet when Turner exited the AD’s job, “nothing changed,” insisted the coach.

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Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse looks up to the scoreboard during a basketball game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Arkansas Razorbacks during the SEC Basketball Tournament held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse yells to his players in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Mark Humphrey, AP

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse gives instructions to his team during the second half against LSU at Memorial Gym Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt defeated LSU 99 to 90. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches his team lose 77 to 62 against Alabama during the second half at Memorial Gym Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse yells at a referee as his team loses 77 to 62 against Alabama during the second half at Memorial Gym Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches from the sidelines during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Austin Peay Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt won 90-72.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches from the sidelines during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Austin Peay Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt won 90-72.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse yells to his team during the second half against Southeast Missouri State at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches his team play against Clark Atlanta during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse celebrates with players after a basket was made against Clark Atlanta during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse talks with forward Matthew Moyer (13) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Clark Atlanta Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse talks to players during a timeout against Clark Atlanta in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Former Pistons guard Jerry Stackhouse talks with reporters during halftime of the Pistons' 105-101 loss to the Wizards in the final game at the Palace of Auburn Hills April 10, 2017. Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

Dallas Mavericks' Jerry Stackhouse slaps hands with fans as he leaves the court after the Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 99-85 in Game 2 of the NBA basketball finals in Dallas, Sunday, June 11, 2006. Stackhouse scored 19 points in the game. DAVID J. PHILLIP, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches his team play before a timeout against Clark Atlanta during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse directs his players against Clark Atlanta during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches his team warm up before playing Clark Atlanta in an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse walks back to the bench after greeting the officials before playing Clark Atlanta in an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse talks with guard Saben Lee during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Clark Atlanta Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse congratulates forward Matthew Moyer (13) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Clark Atlanta Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse celebrates with players after a basket was made against Clark Atlanta during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches his team play against Clark Atlanta during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.
Mark Zaleski/ For the Tennessean

"I got in this relationship with Vanderbilt University — for six years," Stackhouse said. "We’re committed to each other, and I’m as firm in that commitment as ever, as I was on Day 1.”

The brightest aspect of Turner’s legacy at Vanderbilt, given that he spent only one year in charge, was his move to lure Stackhouse away from pro ball. Such a decision, outside-the-box as it may have been, continued to look better over the course of this past season in spite of any concerns.

With a former NBA star player like Stackhouse, there’s always been an underlying skepticism about motivations. He didn’t have to do this. He doesn’t need the money or the acclaim. He doesn’t have to prove anything in basketball. He was paving a promising coaching career in the pros before taking this detour into college, not wholly understanding exactly what he’d be getting into when doing it.

You want to understand why he's eager to want to stay.

And so he tells you.

He likes this. To understand Stackhouse's approach is to remember that despite the prestige he once held as a player, he was always the blue-collar type and still is that. He likes getting his hands dirty, which has made him a better fit for this task at Vanderbilt than some might realize.

He’s a smart guy. He wasn’t blindsided. He knew enough to know what he did not, and he shrewdly planned for it, negotiating in his six-year contract the ability to hire a large staff, and he “found people that were great at what I didn’t know.”

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse watches his team lose 77 to 62 against Alabama during the second half at Memorial Gym Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)

“People always have a lot of things to stay about this and that, talking about the size of the staff,” Stackhouse said. “It’s just noise to me, because it’s in the contract. We have a salary pool. I have the discretion to hire as I want as long as I’m inside my salary pool.

“So I can have three people on staff or I can have 20 people, as long as I fall inside the salary pool. I wanted to make sure that I had people to service our players and do what we needed to get the program back to where it should be.”

Vanderbilt is not there yet, of course, and Stackhouse wouldn't try to argue otherwise. Last season’s record — 11-21 overall and 3-15 in the SEC — wasn’t anything to brag about.

“Some people maybe thought it was a win,” he said, “but for us, it was still a disappointing season.”

But hopeful hints were produced by a young team that didn't quit in a discouraging situation — unlike the previous season before Stackhouse arrived — and improved after losing its best player and NBA hopeful Aaron Nesmith to midseason injury.

The Commodores were often overmatched, sure, but they did beat LSU before closing the regular season with wins over Alabama and South Carolina, gaining actual victories, not moral ones.

It was enough to offer hope in his vision for Vanderbilt and grow confidence in what he’ll be able to do on West End, for those inside and outside the program.

“They see it now. They smell it now,” Stackhouse said of his players.

Meanwhile, coaches around the SEC complemented Stackhouse’s first-year efforts. “He’s doing a heck of a job,” said Kentucky’s John Calipari after a win in Memorial Gym in February.

“I appreciate the nods, but at the same time, I want to beat them,” Stackhouse said. “It’s great to talk great about somebody once you beat them. But I mean, let’s see if they have those same comments next year when we’re on the other side.”

Stackhouse's question is this: If Vanderbilt was good enough to beat those SEC teams, why was it not able to beat more opponents?

Along those lines, when asked, he didn’t want to talk about a lack of talent. He understands, sure, that Vanderbilt’s recruiting strategy shouldn’t be to chase one-and-done players. He's planning to instead bring in those who are good fits for the school and players who want to learn, players with whom he can build.

Because it’s the building that he said he loves.

“The piece that I enjoy the most, the therapy for me is to get in between those lines and with those kids for two-and-a-half hours a day,” Stackhouse said.

Like everyone else in college hoops, Stackhouse is having to be patient with campuses closed and his players at home in the COVID-19 crisis. That has been tough, he said. He has plans.

To hear him talk, it’s all about the future, where Vanderbilt is headed with him in charge.

And there aren’t suggestions to the contrary.

“I really am enjoying it,” Stackhouse said. “I’m enjoying being able to have an impact on these young guys’ lives. … Do I feel good about being a college coach? Yeah, but I don’t put it in one box or the other. I just think I’m a coach and I feel like I could do this for a long time because I really enjoy the teaching aspect of it.”

Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.